a person who did a job before somebody else 前任 a thing, such as a machine, that has been followed or replaced by something else 原先的东西；被替代的事物 This computer has a larger memory than its predecessor. 这台电脑的内存比它的前身大。
compare successor
Word Originlate Middle English: from late Latin praedecessor, from Latin prae ‘beforehand’ + decessor ‘retiring officer’ (from decedere ‘depart’).